And if they didn't learn about the holocaust in school, is it not a good thing that things like "Schindler's List" and Yulia's performance can serve to raise awareness?

I think with with the waves of Holocaust denial growing stronger every year, Whatever survivors are left and their families (And other Jews) are being critical out of fear that the collective memory of the Holocaust in 50 years would be the plot of Inglorious bastards

I'm glad that Spielberg took notice of Yulia's inspiring interpretation, but I'd be doubtful about giving her a move role...

Spielberg usually has a lot of small speaking roles in his movies, And he often supports the subject matter or the Location of filming by bringing in a few actors\people who are related, It's interesting how they claim it's a Starring role , And while i wouldn't take away the possibility of Yulia being an actress in the future, Should Spielberg call her over it'll probably be for a small cameo, Her beauty is very cinematic .

Mind you, Though these things are sometimes subject to change, That Spielberg has announced his next directorial project to be "Indiana Jones 5",
Though the plot is still unknown, Part 4 had Cate Blanchett as a Russian, So maybe he'll focus more in that direction, Though at the end of that one they also went to Extra terrestrial territories So you never know

Oh, and people would not know about holocaust otherwise???? Maybe our schools are just better, LOL.

Sometimes an artistic representation has an emotional power that can motivate people to learn more-- people who might not read history outside of school, for instance. I mean I don't want to exaggerate the importance of Julia's performance (like that creepy dude AllYouDoIsTalk would ), but I think it's unfair to say that she is being trivializing or manipulative. She strikes me as being very earnest and stoic and not given to fulsome displays of "emotion" for the sake of attention-seeking.

All this doesn't change the fact that there was absolutely no musical interpretation, no emotion, no actual feeling of the music or the story.

There were two Senior Schindler's Lists this season, and hers was the inferior one.

For the last time, that is only your opinion when you watch her skate. You cannot say it is somehow inferior just because you don't see interpretation, and when many other people have the opposite opinion.

Of course you can say you don't like it because that's your prerogative and you're welcome to it. But please don't put absolute statements out there when thousands out there disagree with you.

I watched Johnny Weir's SL. It was alright, and I'll watch it again, periodically, but it's not nearly as great as other programs of his. For example: For some show fashion on ice(?) Johnny skated to Ave Maria, a song that I listen to but I don't really like that much, while wearing this fur monstrosity. Nevertheless, I loved the program, feeling the interpretation.

Katarina Witt's SL? I tried to watch it, I mean I really tried, because some people on these boards said it was good. I didn't make it through even 30 seconds of it. Of course she still was interpreting it. Just not in a way that resounded with me.

Joshua Farris. (I assume this is who you meant?) A very good skater, but his SL interpretation did not even begin to create a response of the magnitude Yulia was able to from me. My own personal opinion, not an absolute statement.

And this does not have anything to do with things like Yulia's age, gender, etc. When I watch Yulia's SL, there is so much happening. I'm now trying to put into words something that can't be properly expressed in words because it means something to me; much the same way the music obviously matters to her, but I will do my best. Every single time I've watched her LP, even when watching the same competition, a different emotion or even multiple tangled-up emotions, are being shown to me. It's similar to a jewel, many different facets can be seen/felt/expressed.

I'm going to try to say this delicately: several of the best skaters may be known for their interpretation of the music, but it does not resound with me. Does this mean they're not feeling/interpreting/emoting? Absolutely not. I would never say that. So why are all these people trivializing Yulia? It's horrible. What would your reaction be if your sister skated to music that had a emotional impact on her, managed to touch many people, and then someone dismissed her as being "inferior"? Wouldn't that be horrible? In the same vein of someone trivializing the Holocaust, although certainly not anywhere near to that degree. Anyway, I hope I've given you something to consider and you realize that, while you don't feel in response to her skating, we do.

* also mentioned Julia thought of quitting had she won gold in individuals because the Olympics cycle was already a huge pressure but now she plans to continue

Did Yulia or her coach said this?

@All: About Schindler's List choice of music and interpretation.

I've read the book many years ago, and I remember that when I saw the movie I was devastated. I was 21 yrs old, and I watched that movie more than 10 times, and each time I was crying like a little girl. My mom couldn't understand why I kept watching the movie given the effect it has on me. So I could perfectly understand Yulia's choice. There is no need to speculate and be cynical about it. I would've done the same if I was a figure skater, simply because the movie it's so powerful and the music just beautiful.
As Nadya rightly said, this is a rare case of a childlike skater playing a childlike character, but a powerful and meaningful one.

I've seen this music skated by S&S, Witt and others. The only routine I used to love was the one in Ice Dance by the french couple (please help with the names because I want to see that again), until I saw Yulia's program.
For me her interpretation is the best I've seen so far. When she skates that routine, even when she fell, she is that little red-coated girl.

As touching as that Yulia's performance was, I would love Yulia to develop some lighter theme. Maybe based on Russian folklore.
There is a song I would love to see used for figure skating performance. It's about a peasant girl who comes to a rowan tree asking for advice. It's called "Uralskaya Ryabinushka". Maybe it's not good for free judged skate, but perfect for gala.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7groomUEzzw

I’m writing to you to tell you how moved I was by your gold medal performance as the little girl in red and accompanied by John Williams’ music from my film SCHINLDER’S LIST. You brought such dignity in your remembrance of the Holocaust through your soulfully inspired routine. I have three sons and four daughters and there was no dry eye in our house in California as we watched you on television.

You are the best discovery of the Sochi Olympics and we will be watching for you at PyeongChang 2018. Hopefully someday my family will have the chance to meet you and your family. We would love that very much.

I’m writing to you to tell you how moved I was by your gold medal performance as the little girl in red and accompanied by John Williams’ music from my film SCHINLDER’S LIST. You brought such dignity in your remembrance of the Holocaust through your soulfully inspired routine. I have three sons and four daughters and there was no dry eye in our house in California as we watched you on television.

You are the best discovery of the Sochi Olympics and we will be watching for you at PyeongChang 2018. Hopefully someday my family will have the chance to meet you and your family. We would love that very much.

In good health,
Steven Spielberg.

Dear Mr. Spielberg, Worlds will be held in Saitama, Japan this coming weekend - perhaps you can watch Yulia perform S.L. in person - That would be a pretty cool photo op

As a side note: There is a daughter of a Holocaust survivor who recently wrote a book about her mother's experiences during the Holocaust. The author is Rhonda Fink-Whitman, and the book is 94 Maidens Rhonda recently interviewed college students in PA & NJ about their knowledge of the Holocaust. She didn't do this to embarrass them, but it was appalling how lacking in knowledge the PA college students were about it. The NJ students thankfully were more aware of it thanks to the mandate to teach about it in NJ schools. Rhonda, a former radio/TV personality (she used to do traffic reports in the Philly area), is very active lobbying for mandating Holocaust education in Pennsylvania. I hope she & her supporters succeed in this as the survivor generation is dying out, and tragically there are still all those Holocaust deniers out there, despite the overwhelming evidence that these horrors took place in those awful years.